Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

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azdave
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by azdave »

jftl wrote:Dave,

This is some absolutely AMAZING work you are doing. Can't wait to see it done, hopefully in person =).

-Kevin
I have some vacation time I must use before the end of May so I'm hopeful that by June it might be running again.

BTW,
Here is a short video I had a friend do in order to show a quick view of the suspension mods I did. It looks much better when viewed in SolidWorks but this is all I could get to export to a video site.

Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

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More pics from the last few days.
Attachments
Right axle with new silicone CV boot installed. All-thread rod in photo used to keep suspension from extending further during install work.<br /><br /><br />.
Right axle with new silicone CV boot installed. All-thread rod in photo used to keep suspension from extending further during install work.


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Just ahead of the motor mount you can see the all-thread rod and coupler nut extending through left top shock mount.<br /><br /><br />.
Just ahead of the motor mount you can see the all-thread rod and coupler nut extending through left top shock mount.


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Rear and bottom transmission pans removed for final cleaning, painting and sealing.<br /><br /><br />.
Rear and bottom transmission pans removed for final cleaning, painting and sealing.


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Final design of rear motor mount side rail hat. I enclosed the ends for a more finished look and will weld in place this weekend. I like the cleanliness of the mount plus it won't be in the way for any future engine work. I thought about bolting this in place but I feel it is not likely to ever need removed.<br /><br /><br />.
Final design of rear motor mount side rail hat. I enclosed the ends for a more finished look and will weld in place this weekend. I like the cleanliness of the mount plus it won't be in the way for any future engine work. I thought about bolting this in place but I feel it is not likely to ever need removed.


.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by azdave »

This weekend I got the rear motor mount welded permanently and also bead blasted the tranny covers and re-intalled them with new gaskets. Easter picnics and working to get another vehicle to pass state emissions regulations took most of my play time.
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P4230003.JPG
P4230005.JPG
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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65 Monza 4DR 140/PG w/factory A/C
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

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It roars!

This weekend saw a lot of progress on the project. I began stripping out all of the old wiring along with a million zip-tys and questionable splices. It's amazing how confusing wiring can get after a car has been through multiple owners over many years. My goal was to simplify the engine wiring and make sure it is all neat, identified, fused and secure. Much of it will be wrapped later but for now I use Velcro wire wraps since I know I will be adding wires later.

I also built a new mount for the alternator and moved it from the upper passenger side to the lower driver side. Last summer I had switched to a modern 94A internally regulated 3-wire GM unit. The movement of the motor relative to the new front support is minimal so the alternator is now attached to the support and a simple turnbuckle is taking care of tensioning. I might change this later if I find a suitable old GM mount but this will work for now and might become permanant. Moving the alternator had many bonuses including easier access to the fuel pump and getting the alt. pully away from the upper radiator hose.

Along with the general cleaning up of the wiring I began replacing all of the sheet metal screws with nasty sharp points that were driven through the floor pan from both sides. Those are great for skinning knuckles and tearing clothes. I re-routed the bowden cables on the throttle and shifter and also made new bellcranks for both. To smooth up the action of the throttle cable I installed ball bearings on several of the pivots. While I was under there I ran a completely new fuel line and upsized to 3/8" ID for better fuel delivery. This engine was set up for a mechanical fuel pump and I decided to stay with that for now. The chassis had an electrical fuel pump but it was poorly mounted and wired unsafely (no fuse and pump ran in all key positions except off).

I filled the diff, tranny and engine with oil in prepration for cranking (with the plugs out) to start circulating fluid and build oil pressure. No anti-freeze required yet and I left off the fan belt so the water pump wouldn't spin dry. Starter was cleaned up, brushes examined and then installed.

Late Sunday night I got the battery installed and slowly checked all of the re-wired electrical systems to verify expected voltage and current readings. After confirming all connections I removed the spark plugs and began cranking the engine over until I saw good oil pressure on the gauge and also saw that fuel was getting to the carb.

After a brief delay to check for leaks and install the spark plugs I got the fire extinguisher and garden hose ready (just in case). With the choke set and timing estimated it fired on the first hit and roared to life. I let it fast idle for about 30 seconds while moving the shifter through the gears to circulate tranny fluid. i then shut her down to check for leaks and call it an evening.

Next? Install cooling system components and new exhaust.
Attachments
Current photo May 1st 2011<br /><br /><br />.
Current photo May 1st 2011


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Here's how it looked when I brought it home.<br /><br /><br />.
Here's how it looked when I brought it home.


.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by Vair-8 »

god AZDAVE, love your work. Dad and I have started working on our Vair-8. We should start a thread but our work won't be as good as yours.
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by jftl »

One word...Amazing!
1965 Covair Corsa w/ 4 barrel conversion intake, Holley 390 CFM, and custom cherry bomb exhaust. "Joe'd"!
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by azdave »

.

Note to self...try to learn more about rebuilding 45 year old TH425 FWD automatic transmissions.

Somewhere in the complicated process of rebuilding the transmission I must have got a valve stuck or a seal flipped or a check valve not seating. I got the V8 out on the street last weekend and immediately recognized a problem. The tranny felt as if I had both forward and reverse applied at the same time. Almost as soon as I got rolling (5 MPH) it felt like I had put on the brakes. I carefully nursed it back into the garage (not wanting to toast all of the new parts inside the tranny) and shut her down. I was unable to find any external reason for the problem and nothing short of taking it all back apart is likely to reveal my error.

In light of that set back, last weekend was mostly spent building a new set of temporary support plates to hang the motor and diff assembly while I disconnected and removed the tranny. With careful planning I had the bad tranny out in about 2 hours and the backup tranny installed in about the same amount of time. I also hung on an old set of mufflers until I have time to weld up a new set of pipes.

The backup tranny is not the one I wish to keep in the car for long-term use but it will work for now. With the tranny sorted out I was able to get about 20 miles on the car while testing for fluid temps, leaks, oil pressure, etc. I know I still have to sort out cooling issues that the car has had since Day 1. If I stay off the freeway I am fine but I can't roll for long over 60 MPH since the airflow through the radiator is poor. I'll start working on that this week. I only had enough radiator ducting put in place to safely test the engine and tranny operation on city streets.

Now that I have a good engine, strong motor mounts and reinforced suspension I feel much safer when I nail the throttle. It pulls hard and shifts firm. The local club is meeting this Friday at a cruise-in about 6 miles from me so I'll probably take it there to show a few people my progress.

I also worked on my 66 Corsa the weekend. It needed new tires since the old 13" rubber was leaking air right through the side-walls. The tires were weather checked and over 12 years old so not worth saving. I found a nearly new set of tires on Craig's List for $100 and got them mounted and balanced so now I don't have to air them up constantly AND I feel safe again to drive it over 30 MPH.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Post by 65Ragtop »

Nice job Dave. That thing is lookin' GREAT!
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Re:

Post by azdave »

65Ragtop wrote:Nice job Dave. That thing is lookin' GREAT!

Thanks!

Got a lot of miles on her this weekend (close to 150). Went to two cruise-ins on Friday night and two on Saturday night. I had a blast with it. Main comments heard by people checking it out was "Oh my God!" or "Sweet Jesus!". Must be a lot of religious folk at these meets. ::-):

When you have a 455 engine where there should be a 164 one no one seems to notice all of the flaws in the paint or the bad hood alignment so I was happy that they weren't checking out the car except the engine compartment.

The whole weekend went flawlessly until late Sunday night as I was literally 100 yards from the driveway the car sputtered and died just like it ran out of fuel. I coasted to within 100 feet of my house and luckily on a flat road with curbside parking allowed. The engine wouldn't even sputter on a re-start attempt. Knowing I had plenty of fuel but an old pump I just pushed it the last bit to the house. After it cooled off several hours I took a quick look and it appears that I do have fuel getting to the carb so now I am not sure what is up. Tonight after work I'll check for good spark, etc. I'll see if it fires with a quick spray of starting fluid too.

Anyway, I'm not too bummed as it could have died out at night in the dark a lot further from home. It was a good weekend even with this little issue to resolve.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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No fuel problem solved

Post by azdave »

azdave wrote:The engine wouldn't even sputter on a re-start attempt. Knowing I had plenty of fuel but an old pump I just pushed it the last bit to the house. After it cooled off several hours I took a quick look and it appears that I do have fuel getting to the carb so now I am not sure what is up.
Turns out the carb was clogged up. I swapped in a known good Quadrajet from the other V8 and it fired right up.

When I dug into the bad carb I found the previous owner had repaired a stripped out inlet cap with JB Weld and left out the carb filter. Bits of the epoxy and dirt were the culprit. I'll repair that and get a new inline filter and I"ll be good to go again.
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by 65corvaircopnj »

Dave you give me a goal to achieve when I'm retired and the kids are gone from the nest! Excellent work, exceptionally thought out, and jealously read-over by yours truly. Hope she smokes ALOT of rice-burners and 'muscle' cars. Love it!
Chris
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Used to have: 65 Monza Convertible; 66 Monza Cp w A/C ; 63 Monza Cp
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

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65corvaircopnj wrote:Dave you give me a goal to achieve when I'm retired and the kids are gone from the nest! Excellent work, exceptionally thought out, and jealously read-over by yours truly. Hope she smokes ALOT of rice-burners and 'muscle' cars. Love it!
Thanks! I've been enjoying it so far (other than the gas mileage). I have to say the 1-2 shift is the most fun when you get into it. Feels like the wheel are just barely touching when she raises up. I'm sure it's not even close to that but it feels like it sitting inside.

I'm still working on other things now that it's running. The exhaust sounds awesome but is too loud for long-term use. The mufflers were borrowed anyway so they are temporary until I build a new set. I have some more gauges to install and other such things. I've done some pretty hard shifts and keep looking and listening for any signs of trouble but so far it seems solid.

Last Friday night I started to leave a car show and found my rear marker lights were out. I had license plate lights so I knew it was just a problem in the old wires in the tail light section. I found a broken wire and was able to jumper around it with some wire I stole from the un-used radio harness up front. The next day I completely replaced all of the wires for the rear lighting and now have dependable, super bright full LED tail lights across the rear. I kept the same correct 66 lenses but all 4 light positions are now combined marker/brake and turn signals. I'll deal with a backup light solution in the future. The car has not had backup lights since I got it.

I also made use of the switch-pitch torque converter. When at a stop light you have to press the brake pretty good to hold the car from rolling. I decided to wire the switch-pitch torque converter so that when the brake is on the converter switches to high stall. That makes it easier to wait at a light and lowers the heating of the fluid too. Once I let off the brake the converter switches back to regular function. Now that I have that wired it will also make it easier to add a third brake light on the rear of the car (probably hidden inside shining through the rear window glass).
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by cvair4life »

Hey Dave that conversion fits without messing up the inside much right?
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

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cvair4life wrote:Hey Dave that conversion fits without messing up the inside much right?
I have no back seat because a previous owner installed the radiator inside the passenger compartment under an engine cover. Normally with the Toro conversion you can keep the back seat if you do a few mods.

Check out Greybeard's conversion for his sweet Toro conversion with rear seat still in place.
http://greybeard.shutterfly.com/
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

Post by Vair-8 »

After seeing your thread and learning more about the Toro conversion, I think I like it more than my crown set up. My set up alters the car more than I would like but I like seeing the V-8 as a center of attraction.
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Re: Toro Corvair Project Thread azdave

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Vair-8 wrote:After seeing your thread and learning more about the Toro conversion, I think I like it more than my crown set up. My set up alters the car more than I would like but I like seeing the V-8 as a center of attraction.
I've had both the Crown and the Kelmark conversions and told myself I would not buy another, mainly because I had been there, done that but also due to too many broken drive line parts. I like the Toro conversion but it has issues too. Tail heavy and auto transmission only. I like that the power package is hard to break from driver abuse.

If you want to autocross or road race, don't go Toro. If you want to rumble around town in stop light to stop light mode the Toro conversion is awesome. It gets major respect while sitting at car shows and I don't even have to start it up. Kids in Hondas who normally show off and rev on anyone nearby tend not to poke the bear when they pull up beside me. ::-):
Dave W. from Gilbert, AZ

66 Corsa 140/4 Yenko Stinger Tribute
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65 Monza 4DR 140/PG w/factory A/C
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